[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 65 (Tuesday, May 23, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H3576-H3578]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HMONG VETERANS' NATURALIZATION ACT OF 2000
Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from
the Speaker's table the bill (H.R. 371) to facilitate the
naturalization of aliens who served with special guerrilla units or
irregular forces in Laos, with Senate amendments thereto, and concur in
the Senate amendments.
The Clerk read the title of the bill:
The Clerk read the Senate amendments, as follows:
Senate amendments:
Page 4, line 6, strike out ``In'' and insert ``(a) In''.
Page 4, strike out all after line 15, down to and including
line 25 and insert:
(3) may request an advisory opinion from the Secretary of
Defense regarding the person's, or their spouse's, service in
a special guerrilla unit, or irregular forces, described in
section 2(1)(B); and
(4) may consider any documentation provided by
organizations maintaining records with respect to Hmong
veterans or their families.
(b) The Secretary of Defense shall provide any opinion
requested under paragraph (3) to the extent practicable, and
the Attorney General shall take into account any opinion that
the Secretary of Defense is able to provide.
Mr. SMITH of Texas (during the reading). Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous
consent that the Senate amendments be considered as read and printed in
the Record.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Texas?
There was no objection.
Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I include for the Record the
following letter from Philip Smith, Director of Lao Veterans of
America, Inc.:
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to place the following letter in
the Record.
Lao Veterans of America, Inc.,
Washington, DC, May 22, 2000.
Hon. Henry Hyde,
Chairman, Judiciary Committee,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Hyde: Thank you for attending our National
Recognition Ceremonies, and serving as one of the keynote
speakers, to mark the 25th anniversary of the end of the
Vietnam War in Laos. We wish to express to you our deepest
gratitude for your leadership role in the House of
Representatives on behalf of the plight of the Hmong and Lao
veterans who served bravely with U.S. clandestine and
military forces in Laos during the Vietnam War. We would also
like to respond to the inquiry by your office about our
current position regarding the newly amended version of H.R.
371/S. 890, the Hmong Veterans Naturalization Act of 1999,
that passed the Senate on Thursday, May 18.
First, the unanimous, bipartisan vote for passage, on May
2, in the House of Representatives, of H.R. 371, was made
possible largely because of your extraordinary leadership in
helping to forge a bipartisan coalition along with that of
Congressman Bruce Vento, the bill's courageous and determined
sponsor, and Congressman George Radanovich, the bill's key
Republican activist. At the time of passage in the House, 109
bipartisan Members of Congress were officially signed on as
cosponsors to H.R. 371. Many veterans organizations have also
endorsed it, including the American Legion, U.S. Special
Forces Assoc., National Vietnam Veterans Coalition, BRAVO,
and Counterparts. We are grateful for your work with
Subcommittee Chairman Lamar Smith as well as Minnesota
Governor Jesse Ventura, who both deserve significant credit
for the ultimate success of the legislation in the House, by
weighing-in at the critical time and helping to move the bill
forward.
Second, with regard to the issue of the lack of records
maintained by the U.S. government on the Hmong and Lao
veterans, the Lao Veterans of America was very honored to be
cited by name in the legislation as an example of an
organization that could provide helpful input regarding the
military records of those Hmong and Lao veterans who served
in the U.S. Secret Army in Laos during the Vietnam War. As
the nation's largest Hmong and Lao non-profit veterans
organization, as well as the first such organization to be
established and incorporated in the United States (some ten
years ago), we maintain the nation's largest repository of
such records. The original records were destroyed in Laos at
the end of the Vietnam War. We are, therefore, pleased to
have been mentioned in the original legislation as an example
of an organization that might be helpful with such records
for the implementation of the bill's mandate. It is
indeed, honorable to have been cited in this way by so
many in the House and Senate who helped draft and
officially sign on as cosponsors to H.R. 371/S. 890. Thank
you for your thoughtfulness and kind consideration in this
regard. It is, indeed, fundamentally important for Hmong
and Lao veterans organizations, including organizations
such as the Lao Veterans of America, to have input with
regard to the military service records of the Hmong and
Lao veterans, since the U.S. CIA, Defense Department, and
Department of Justice have, apparently, only a very
limited number of records regarding those who actually
served and fought in the U.S. Secret Army in Laos.
Third, with regard to Congressman Vento's heroism, it is
our hope that this legislation will help to serve as an
enduring tribute to him when he leaves office at the end of
the 106th Congress. Great men are those, who in time of
crisis, rise above their personal circumstances to lead for
the common good and help people overcome the common enemies
of mankind, such as injustice, ignorance and despair. It is
important, from our perspective, to stress that the
Congressman Bruce Vento's personal challenge with cancer
could easily, and understandably, have caused him to shrink
from assisting us further with the passage of the Hmong
veterans legislation. Instead, he redoubled his efforts, at
that of his staff, even from his hospital bed. We are humbled
and privileged to have had the honor to fight this battle on
behalf of citizenship for the Hmong and Lao veterans together
with Congressman Bruce Vento and you. For us, the struggle
for this legislation began some 10 years ago, when we first
began to work with Congressman Vento to develop this
legislation. Indeed, it has been a noble endeavor, at its
essence an issue of justice and honor for America and the
Hmong veterans. We feel honored to have worked with so many
great men, and giants, in Congress to press this long-overdue
legislation forward to passage in the House and Senate.
Providentially, it comes some 25 years, to the month, after
the exodus of the Hmong and Lao veterans of the U.S. Secret
Army from Laos in those bloody final weeks of 1975. Like
Congressman Vento, we share in the conviction that this is
one of our crowning achievements that will for generations
bless communities across America. It will honor the name of
those Hmong and Lao veterans of the U.S. Secret Army and
their American allies, and friends, who fought so valiantly
in this difficult struggle, both in the jungles of Southeast
Asia as well as in the halls of Congress in Washington, D.C.
Fourth, with regard to your office's concern about the
amended version of S.890/H.R. 371 that passed the Senate last
week, we consider this legislation's passage historic and a
great victory for the Lao and Hmong veterans of the U.S.
Secret Army and their refugee families across the United
States. The Lao Veterans of America was pleased to work to
assist in playing a leadership role in the passage of this
important legislation. We laud its Senate sponsors, Senators
Paul
[[Page H3577]]
Wellstone, Feingold and Robb, for their unflagging leadership
and support. Like its House counterpart (H.R. 371), S. 890
achieved overwhelming bipartisan support with over 17
Senators officially signing on the legislation. The only
exception was the alternative legislation introduced by
Senator Rod Grams. The Lao Veterans of America was able to
work with a bipartisan coalition of U.S. Senators and Hmong
and Lao veterans from across the United States to help
develop a compromise amendment regarding Senator Grams'
legislation. The final language of this amendment was forged
just last week.
The Lao Veterans of America was particularly grateful to
have been consulted, and included, in helping to negotiate
and work out the final compromise regarding the amendment
offered to the legislation prior to the bill's final passage
in the Senate last week. Chairman Hatch as well as Senators
Leahy, Wellstone, Feingold, McCain, Kohl, Grassley, Kyl,
and Specter were particularly helpful in building bridges
and reaching across the aisle during the vigorous
negotiations that led to hammering out the final language
that was acceptable to all parties, including Senator
Grams' office.
Fifth, Mr. Chairman, with regard to the serious issue of
timing, all along the major concern of the Lao Veterans of
America regarding this legislation, was the concern that we
know that you share: the Hmong Veterans Naturalization Act is
long overdue. Time is not an unlimited commodity for anyone.
When one confronts one's own mortality, and considers the
personal plight of the two original sponsors of this
legislation, both Congressman Vento in his battle with
cancer, as well as Senator Paul Wellstone and his legislative
director's, Michael Epstein's, battle with cancer, the
limitations of time become crystal clear.
One of our key points to members of the Senate was the
grave concern shared by many across the political spectrum
that the Congress was running out of the necessary
legislative time in the 106th Congress to pass the bill,
especially if significant changes were made to the original
language of the Vento/Radanovich legislation (H.R. 371) that
passed the House. We believe that you and the Hmong veterans
successfully helped to communicate this point when nearly
5,000 of our members converged on Washington, DC, on May 10th
for the Lao Veterans of American National Recognition
Ceremonies marking the 25th anniversary of the end of the
Vietnam War in Laos.
Mr. Chairman, it is important to note that the Hmong and
Lao veterans of the U.S. Secret Army waited twenty-two years,
for national recognition in 1997 at the Vietnam Memorial and
Arlington Cemetery. This was far too long and painful.
Likewise, they have worked nearly a decade for this
legislation, working hard and waiting far too many years for
H.R. 371/S. 890 to be passed by Congress. Indeed, since I
first began working on this legislation nearly ten years ago,
I have attended too many funerals for the Hmong and Lao
veterans, who have passed away without the dignity of being
citizens in the country that they gave the best years of
their lives fighting to assist.
Final, Mr. Chairman, but by no means least, the passage of
S. 890/H.R. 371, as amended by the Senate, is first and
foremost a matter of sacred honor that is long-overdue. The
Hmong and Lao veterans of the U.S. Secret Army are not
honored by continuing to live in limbo without a country, as
mere aliens with green cards. Having been flown into battle
for the United States by the CIA's and the Defense
Department's, ``Air America,'' they wish to live and die as
American citizens. We thank you for your leadership role and
ask you to expeditiously seek to bring the amended version of
the bill to the House floor under unanimous consent for
immediate passage.
Sincerely,
Philip Smith,
Washington, D.C., Director.
Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, I am a proud original cosponsor of H.R. 371,
the Hmong Veteran's Naturalization Act, and I am pleased to see that
this bill will be sent to the President's desk for his signature. This
bill will allow the Hmong veterans who fought with the United States
against the communist forces in Southeast Asia and their families to be
naturalized. The measure will speed up the process by waiving the usual
English proficiency and civics test requirements.
Passage of this legislation ensures that we as a nation will never
forget the toll the Vietnam War took on our allies and friends in
Southeast Asia. Tremendous sacrifices were made by the Hmong people,
with nearly 20,000 Hmong killed and over 100,000 fleeing to refugee
camps in other nations to survive. Thankfully, due to the generosity,
strength of will and compassion of the American people, approximately
49,000 Hmong-Americans reside in Wisconsin today, of which,
approximately 9,000 live in my district in western Wisconsin.
Therefore, it is with immense gratitude, I commend the Hmong for
their loyalty and faithfulness to the United States and thank them for
the sacrifices they made to fight for democracy and justice. For this,
we owe them a large debt of gratitude that can never be adequately
repaid.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, this is an important bill
because the Hmong have stood by the U.S. at a crucial time in our
history and now is the time to repay and honor the loyalty of Hmong
veterans. The Hmong were a pre-literate society. They had no written
language in use when the United States recruited them during the
Vietnam War. The best symbol of why H.R. 371 is necessary is the Hmong
``story cloth,'' the Pandau cloth, that is their embroidered cloth
record of important historical events and oral traditions.
I approve of the Senate language which simply states that the
Attorney General ``may consider any documentation provided by
organizations maintaining records with respect to Hmong veterans or
their families.'' I am also gratified that it was made clear in the
other body that the dropping of the Lao Veterans of America does not
reflect adversely on that organization.
I join Chairman Smith in commending Lao Veterans of America for its
tireless efforts for the Hmong. I too also commend our colleague, the
gentleman from Minnesota, Mr. Vento, for his sponsorship of this
legislation and urge my colleagues to pass it.
The Hmong were critical to the American war strategy in S.E. Asia--
especially the U.S. air strategy. Mr. Speaker this legislation provides
for the expedited naturalization of Hmong veterans of the U.S. Secret
Army currently residing in the United States (as legal aliens) who
served with U.S. clandestine and special forces during the Vietnam War
by allowing them to take the citizenship test with a translator since
the Hmong are a tribal people with no written language, thus relying
solely on the ``story cloths''. The bill is capped at 45,000, in terms
of the total of number of Hmong veterans, their widows and orphans who
currently reside in the United States who would fall under the
legislation. This cap is supported by the Hmong veterans in the United
States and is considered to be a generous cap. I support this
legislation to provide relief to the Hmong heroes.
Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, The Hmong Veterans' Naturalization Act of
1999, was introduced by Representative Vento. It provides long overdue
assistance for the naturalization requirements of U.S. citizenship to a
valiant group of people who fought for our country many years ago.
Between 130,000 and 150,000 Laotian Hmong have entered the United
States as refugees since 1975. Many have found it difficult to
naturalize because of cultural obstacles to learning how to read
English. This is due in part to the fact that the culture of the Hmong
did not include a written form of their language until recent decades.
H.R. 371 would exempt the Hmong naturalization applicants from the
English language requirements if they have served with special
guerrilla units or irregular forces operating from bases in Laos in
support of the United States during the Vietnam War (or were spouses or
widows of such persons on the day on which such persons applied for
admission as refugees).
This legislation passed the House by voice vote on May 2 and I have
no problem with the Senate amendments concerning the certification
requirement which were technical in nature.
Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Senate amended H.R.
371, The Hmong Veterans Naturalizaton Act.
I would like to thank the distinguished gentleman from Texas,
Representative, Lamar Smith for his leadership throughout this process
and his support on the House floor today. In addition, I would like to
acknowledge the efforts of Senator Patrick Leahy, Senator Russ
Feingold, Senator Paul Wellston, and Senator Herb Kohl. Their support
and determination in working out the final language of the bill helped
secure passage of H.R. 371 last week in the Senate. Moreover, I would
like to mention the support of the Lao Veterans of America, the largest
Lao-Hmong organization in the nation, which has been actively working
on this legislation for over 10 years.
Today, we finally honor the Lao-Hmong patriots for their sacrifice
and service to the United States during the Vietnam War. It has been
twenty-five years since the fall of Saigon and the last American troops
pulled out of Southeast Asia. Events that have been relived these past
months, harsh memories of Vietnam that are unpleasant to all Americans.
While the Vietnam War is over for America, the plight of our friends
and allies within this region and Laos must be remembered.
Lao-Hmong soldier, as young as ten years old, were recruited, fought
and died along side 58,000 U.S. soldiers, sailors, and airmen in
Vietnam. As a result of their bravery and loyalty to the U.S., the Lao-
Hmong were tragically over run by the Communist forces and lost their
homeland and status in Laos after the Vietnam War. Between 10,000 and
20,000 Lao-Hmong were killed in combat-related incidents and over
100,000 had to flee to refugee camps and other nations to survive.
In the Minnesota area today, approximately 60,000 Lao-Hmong know the
Minnesota region as their new home. Many of the older Lao-Hmong
patriots who made it to the U.S.
[[Page H3578]]
are separated from their family members and have had a difficult time
adjusting to many aspects of life and culture in the U.S., including
passing aspects of the required citizenship test. Learning to read in
English has been the greatest obstacle for the Lao-Hmong because
written characters in the Hmong language have only been introduced in
recent years. In addition, their long participation and service to U.S.
forces in the Southeast Asian military conflict significantly disrupted
any chance Lao-Hmong patriots may have had to learn a written language.
The Hmong Veterans Naturalization Act would help the process of
family reunification and finally ease the adjustment of the Lao-Hmong
into our U.S. society. Specifically H.R. 371 would waive the English
language requirement for Lao-Hmong who served in special Guerrilla
Units in Laos during the Vietnam War. This legislation would effect
individuals who today reside legally in the United States. It would not
open new immigration channels nor would the bill give the Lao-Hmong
veteran's status to make them eligible for veteran benefits. Moreover,
the bill establishes strict criteria for approval and sets a cap of
45,000 to who may benefit from this legislation.
This is an historic opportunity to recognize and in some small way
honor the loyalty and address a key problem of the older Lao-Hmong
family members who are continuing to have a difficult time adjusting to
life here in the USA. Fortunately, there is something positive we can
do to help the process of family reunification and finally ease the
adjustment of Hmong into U.S. society. It is time to move forward with
action and grant citizenship to the Lao-Hmong patriots--who have after
all passed a more important test than a language test. They risked
their lives for American values and to save U.S. service personnel.
The Lao-Hmong people stood honorably by the United States at a
critical time in our Nation's history. Today, we should stand with the
Lao-Hmong in their struggle to become U.S. citizens and to live a good
life in the United States. The Lao-Hmong already passed the hardest
test of their lives in service to the United States. Now, their
dedication and service deserves proper recognition.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the original request
of the gentleman from Texas?
There was no objection.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________